Dear readers: With Ebola being on everyone’s radar these days (that being justified or not), let me outline the most important facts you should know about it.

Ebola is a viral illness and one of many Hemorrhagic Fevers (to hemorrhage means to bleed).

This is a severe disease, which begins abruptly and is often fatal and during this current outbreak, its reported fatality is in 55-60% of cases; some recover while others die and the reason for this remains unknown but it is noted that the immune response to the virus remains low at the time of death in individuals who do not recover.

How is Ebola transmitted?

If an Ebola patient is adequately quarantined, there’s no real reason for public to panic – this is not Flu and it’s not spread as easily. Ebola can be contracted in the following ways:

Through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids (blood, vomit, pee, poop, sweat, semen, spit, other fluids) of a person who is sick with Ebola

Through direct exposure to objects (such as surgical instruments, needles etc.) that have been contaminated with infected bodily fluids